I invite you to quiet yourself - to seek the deep inner part of yourself in you. Touch the holy, the sacred, God's own spirit within you. Take time for prayer, reflection, and meditation before you seek to minister to others. Invite God to journey with you and to be the heart of your ministry. Receive the blessing of quiet and reflective time.
I invite you to listen deeply. As you meet people, listen with your head and heart to all that is being said and all that is not being said. Listen deeply without a need to provide your answers, but with an openness to journey with the other as they find their answers. Receive the blessing of deep and heart-felt listening.
I invite you to risk trying new things. You are surrounded by opportunities to learn and experiment, to seek help and to discover more about yourself and others. Push yourself beyond what is well known and loved and comfortable. Reach out to discover that you are surrounded by opportunity. Receive the blessing of openness to risk trying new things while being uncomfortable and uncertain.
I invite you to draw close to suffering and to hope. Let yourself come to know people who are struggling and burdened by their situations. Quiet your fears by reminding yourself that you do not have to fix things but only to be with those who are in pain. Let yourself discover that God and hope are present - even touched by suffering and by hope.
I invite you to return to God - to the one who touches and upholds you at the end of your day. Share yourself and your experience with the One who calls you to minister to and journey with those whom you meet each day. Close your days with thanksgiving for relationship, each special moment, each encounter through which you come to know yourself and your creator.
There is much truth and wisdom in this post. We rely on ourselves far too much and think that we need to find answers to help others when, in reality, we only need to be present to God and to others and God will lead us in whatever we are called to do. Thank you for this reminder.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Sometimes the less said, the better. Showing up is remembered by those who need our solidarity.
DeleteThank you for this post which causes me to wonder if God wants me to accompany suffering people who worship the God of Abraham in Israel/Palestine.
ReplyDeleteTheophilus, its sounds like you have exciting conversations and discernment ahead of you with God. Many blessings.
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